The What Anthropology Subfield Test

Biology of Language

You've shown an interest in both biological and linguistic subjects. As a result, you may be interested most in exploring the relationship between the brain, structures that make sounds (tongue, lips, larynx), and the capacity to assign meaning to sound. You don't have to be limited to human language, either. Is language a strictly human trait, or do other animals have the capability of communicating through standardized calls that might qualify as language?

The combination of letters or sounds into meaningful phrases interests you most. The written and spoken word fascinates you, even when you're not fluent in the language. You probably also recognize ... Read more

Look out, Indy, here you come! You've chosen answers that indicate an interest in material culture, the tools that people have created to exploit their environment. Your next step is to decide how y... Read more

Your interests lie in the relationship between biology and human behavior. You may be interested in skeletal biology, morphology, ergonomics, nutrition and health, human genetics, or genetic suscepti... Read more

You've shown an interest in both biological and linguistic subjects. As a result, you may be interested most in exploring the relationship between the brain, structures that make sounds (tongue, lips... Read more

Your answers suggest you would be interested in bioarchaeology. Typically, bioarchaeologists are interested in what bones can tell us about past human societies. Often, bones are examined for age, s... Read more

You might be interested in when and how humans first became capable of language. You might study fossil hominid skulls for hints of development in language-related areas of the brain or make inferenc... Read more

Your strength appears to be in cultural anthropology, also known as ethnology. How people define themselves relative to the "others" is foremost in your mind. Ethnologists need not go to far-away pl... Read more

The study of how language defines modern groups would probably interest you, as well as how new words are introduced and gain acceptance in everyday speech. You might also be interested in pidgen lan... Read more

You are interested in both the old and the new. Some applications of ethnology to archaeology might be through studying how objects are reused over time, how meaning is ascribed to things, how manufa... Read more

Although it is usually considered "cultural," medical anthropology may be of interest to you. So would studies of human adaptability and acclimatization. Medical anthropology is concerned with how d... Read more

The name of this category is a poor description for your interests. What you may be most interested in is how people with abnormal physical functions process language. For example, stroke victims wh... Read more

Your scores suggest you might be interested in Forensic Anthropology, the application of archaeology and biological anthropology to questions of law. A forensic anthropologist may be called upon to d... Read more